Gloucestershire Trading Standards Service - Business Advice

Business Information

Counterfeiting and Piracy

Enforcement of Legislation

The service regularly carries out checks on markets, shops and the Internet in order to ensure that counterfeit goods are not being supplied locally. The National Intelligence Model, which allows for sharing of information between enforcement authorities is used, allowing the sharing of information nationally and internationally to enforce this legislation.

The service also investigates private residential areas regarding the supply of clothing, DVDs, CDs etc. Whilst some people believe that this is harder for trading standards to find, the sale within these 'closed communities' is investigated, which often leads to seizures and where necessary prosecutions are carried out. Traders found to be linked with this type of supplier will be fully investigated.

General Advice

The service offers the following advice to traders in order to reduce the risk of buying and selling counterfeit products.

Suppliers
- Are they reputable?
- Do they have business premises that you can visit?
- Generally, be aware of where you are offered the goods (on a market, from a van).
- Do they have a “land line” rather than a mobile
- Can they provide evidence that the items are genuine from their supply chain?
- Are they an authorised supplier (Contact the brands head office and ask)
- Who made the initial contact and how? Some online auction sites are used by illegal manufacturers to identify potential customers.
- Will they give you a receipt for your goods describing them by the brand?
- Do they only accept cash?
The Goods
- Outer packaging - Is this what you would expect from the brand or high market designer?
The product
- Quality of manufacture – does it look like an expensive designer item? Does the stitching fray easily?
- Care labels – Are they present?
- Place of manufacture – Does this correspond with the suppliers box or paperwork (if relevant)?
- Compare the product with that which is displayed in other retail shops or on reputable online sites.
- Are the garments identical in design but with different logos? Designer companies spend a lot of money to make their product stand out from the competition so if there are several labels in the same style this should be cause for concern.
Cost
- Is the cost of the product suspiciously cheap? Even bankrupt stock or seconds will often be more expensive than counterfeit products.
- Compare the cost that you can sell them for against what other retailers are or have sold them for.

Some brands will talk to traders in order to ensure that their brands are not sold illegally. Although they prefer traders to buy direct from them, they will sometimes inform traders if they are suspicious about a product or supplier. The best way to make contact with brands is to contact the head office, found by searching online for the official site.

We do not inspect goods on behalf of traders nor do we send items for analysis on a trader’s behalf.

See also...

Advice for consumers